Abstract:

This paper intends to explore the possibility of on-line problem based learning (PBL) in the context of a Web 2.0 environment.
The roots of problem based learning can be traced back to the progressive movement especially to John Dewey’s belief that teachers should teach by appealing to students’ natural instincts to investigate and create. Recognizing that Dewey’s maxim held true for medical education, Howard Barrows, a physician and medical educator at Mc Master University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, wanted to develop methods of instructing physicians that fostered their own capabilities for reflection outside of school in ordinary life. Barrows designed a series of problems that went beyond conventional case studies. Barrows and Tamblyn defined this new method “problem based learning” as the learning results from the process of working toward the understanding of resolution of a problem.

In the 1970’s the University of New Mexico and the University of Maastricht with the support of their colleagues from McMaster University began a PBL program. In the 1980’s Harvard Medical School’s New Pathways program adopted a PBL format for its four leaning societies of 40 students. The 1990’s saw other medical schools moving toward problem-based learning.
In the latest years we have observed several studies on PBL application in on-line courses (Savin-Baden, 2003, 2007; Kenny, 2006), and in the Italian literature many significant contribution discuss the development of e-learning in the fluid, dynamic, interactive and cooperative scenario on the contemporary Web.

Hypotheses: We studied if on-line PBL could be, not just an effective teaching method for e-learning courses but could be employed as a design tool. PBL can engage students as stakeholders a in a problem situation, organize curriculum around a given holistic problem enabling learning in relevant and connected ways. Designing on-line courses with PBL can create a learning environment in which teachers, coaches and students work horizontally facilitating deeper levels of understanding of the subject.

Methods and Materials: 20 students of the Graduate program of Health Personnel at the University of Genoa in Italy were exposed to a problem about quality system assessment. The problematic situation aimed to teach issues about management of health services and quality system theories through a PBL session on-line.

Case study: A web site has been built using web 2.0 interactive tools, the group of 20 students was divided in 2 groups of 10 students. Each group discussed the problem at the same time using the tools of web 2.0 as they were present synchronically.
They could see each other trough a webcam and the tutor could facilitate their discussion through the “seven jumps process”. A data base was created to organize all the documents producted by the students in a wiki-architecture. All the students constructed new knowledge according the learning theory of social constructivism. At the end students were evaluated and the results of the work are discussed and presented in analytical way in this paper.

Keywords:

on-line problem based learning, web 2, 0, higher education.